The decision to bring living animals into ones household, for the thoughtful, moral person is one that must be made carefully, for there is much to consider. Not only must one consider the costs and benefits for oneself and ones family, one should also consider the well-being and quality of life for the animals as well. Is raising chickens right for you?
Despite chickens being one of the easier, low-maintenance animals to care for, there are considerations. One should familiarize themselves with the needs of the animal; space, shelter, food, water, and your time. Certainly, if you consume chicken products, consider the question of the quality of life the birds who currently produce your eggs and meat have, and ask yourself “Can I provide a better life for the birds that provide a better life for me and my family?” If you have the means, consider raising chickens.
The Nay-sayer may argue raising chickens is too expensive; Certainly a farm producing hundreds of birds have certain “scaling” advantages.. Feed is far cheaper by the truckload. If one is not careful, it is certainly possible to spend more bringing eggs and meat to the table with your home grown chickens than visiting the grocery store. But I would argue that while electricity, wire, feed, water, feeders…on and on and on…add up, so too do many less obvious benefits.
Values are a subjective thing. What is knowing that the birds that make your food live a quality life, with lots of sunshine and good food worth? Chickens will rapidly diminish the number of insect pests in your garden. Does that matter to you? Quite a lot if you’re an avid gardener, perhaps not so much if your yard is ignored.
For myself, I highly value knowing that every bird I raise is one less in the cramped, dark battery. I like knowing my animals had something resembling a normal, natural life… Sunlight, running around, eating bugs, mating, raising chicks… It just feels good knowing that my birds have a quality of life befitting a living animal.
I also value the independence. Raising chickens at home gives you a form of security. No matter what happens… Job loss, price inflation, interruptions in the supply chain, as long as you can feed your chickens (independence from the feed bag will be a later post), the eggs will just keep coming..
Theres also environmental concerns.. Chickens raised at home, free range, have a much lower environmental impact than industry birds. In fact, they can have a net positive impact. Hundreds of chickens confined together produce a waste management problem. Half a dozen birds in a back yard produce better soil. The meat and egg industry is very non-local, and very petrochemical intensive. I recommend Joel Salatins book “Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal” for his discussion of the “100 mile chicken”.
Then theres quality. Discerning gourmet chefs know that (truly) free range eggs and meat are vastly superior in taste to industrial birds. Crack open the egg of a chicken that feeds on REAL range, and the difference is obvious. The yolks are a dark, almost orange color, and the taste doesn’t compare. Once you’ve had a real free range egg, its very hard to want to go back. There is a similar tendency with the meat as well, in addition to it being safer, cleaner, and freer of chemicals. Not to mention, fresher. Did you know that most of the eggs you get at the store are already weeks old?
Lastly I’d just like to add that like pets, chickens add a lot of entertainment value to your households life. If you have children, this can be invaluable. Chickens will entertain your children and teach them responsibility, the realities of “where food comes from”, how to take care of animals, and so much more.. They’re also fun and amusing. Chickens can be quite comical, and will often amaze you with their capabilities and antics. There is no shortage of soap opera drama either! I know so many people that pay a small yearly fortune for television programming, only to say that “theres nothing on” or complain that it alienates the family. Compared to the cost of a cable bill, chickens are cheap. And in my opinion, at least as entertaining as most of whats on cable. And, they bring the family together in entertainment, responsibility, and meals.
Consider the raft of benefits chickens offer, relative to the ease of maintaining a small flock, and it isn’t hard to see them as an asset. Personally, I enjoy having them around for entertainment and esthetic enough that I would keep them regardless of production.
I’m sure I’ve left out a few of the benefits of raising chickens. As I said, value is relative, and everybody values things differently, what are some of the things you value about chickens I haven’t mentioned?